William Hails

William Anthony Hails or Hailes (1766-1845) was an English miscellaneous writer.

The son of a shipwright, he was born at Newcastle upon Tyne on 24 May 1766. An accident in his childhood prevented him from attending school until his eleventh year. He learnt the alphabet from an old church prayer-book, and his father taught him writing and arithmetic. He remained at school only three years, after which he worked as a shipwright for sixteen years.

He acquired a good knowledge of Latin and Greek, and also studied Hebrew, together with some other oriental languages. He wrote several papers for the Classical Journal and contributed to the Gentleman's Magazine and Monthly Magazine. Hails ultimately became a schoolmaster at Newcastle, but had only moderate success. He was a Wesleyan Methodist, and preached occasionally in the chapel of his sect at Newcastle. He died at Newcastle on 30 August 1845.